Unhealed Wounds
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: An accident on a hunt reveals wounds that haven't healed yet. Part of Skag Trendy's 'Shades of Night' universe.


Tobius should've known this was coming, all things considered, Sam's transition from mortal to werewolf had been relatively easy, Gordon Walker notwithstanding. After the first night of explanations, they hadn't discussed Sam's life with John after Dean left other than Sam's eating and injuries. Tobius knew that Sam still carried a lot of emotional baggage from the abuse he'd suffered at John's hand, but had convinced himself that they'd gotten through the worst of it. The realization of how wrong he was a horrible shock.

The shock came during a hunting trip. Their little pack was busy hunting some deer for dinner, Tobius had wanted to ease Sam into hunting as a wolf gradually. Sam was still recovering from his ordeal with Gordon Walker and he was still adjusting to getting around in wolf form and was still too small to really help in the hunting, but he could help track, which is what Tobius and Dean were teaching him to do.

The trouble came as they were closing in on a stag, Tobius was closing in the creature from behind while Dean tried to keep it distracted. Sam was perched on a ledge behind Tobius, carefully hidden behind some bushes so he could see what was going on, but they wouldn't have to worry about a large animal seeing him. What Tobius hadn't counted on was Sam's curiosity getting the better of him, the pup had crept out from under the bushes to see what was going on, lost his footing and toppled down an embankment and into some more bushes. The noise startled Tobius and Dean and the stag took advantage of the distraction, charging at Dean, running the younger wolf down and disappearing into the trees.

Tobius silently cursed to himself about the disappearing food as he checked on his son, Dean had some cuts and bruises and a nasty conk on the head, but nothing too serious. Satisfied that Dean wasn't seriously hurt, Tobius turned his attention on his grandson. Sam had managed to untangle himself from the bushes he'd fallen in and was now staring at the scene in horror.

_Oh God, Dean! _Sam crawled towards his brotherfather, tail between his legs. He turned his blue-green eyes on his grandfather, _He's okay, isn't he?_

Tobius sighed, _He's fine, young pup, but we need to get him back to the cabin. _He fixed his grandson with a stern look, _And we will be discussing what happened later._ Turning his attention back to Dean, Tobius missed the look of terror that flashed in his grandson's eyes.

They made it back to the cabin with little trouble, Dean being lucid enough to make his way home with little assistance, but Tobius had insisted that his son lay down and rest. After setting Dean up in the bedroom, Tobius turned his attention back to his grandson, he didn't plan on being too hard on Sam, it had been an accident, but he knew that he needed to impress on Sam the importance of following directions, especially now that he was a werewolf. But when he entered the main room of the cabin, Sam was nowhere to be found.

_Sam? _Tobius searched the room but found nothing. Going outside, his sensitive hearing picked up the faint sounds of whimpering coming from outside. Worried about his grandson being outside all alone, he followed the whimpers to a small grouping of saplings near the cabin. Sure enough, there was Sam, curled into a tight little ball of shivering red fur. Worried that Sam had been hiding an injury, Tobius took a cautious step towards him. _Sam?_

At the sound of his name, Sam's head snapped up and, to Tobius's horror, he cowered into the bushes

'_M sorry! 'M sorry! It was an accident, I swear! _He tried to cover his head with his paws, _Please don't be mad! I didn't mean for it to happen!_

Suddenly, the realization of just what was happening hit Tobius like a freight train; the last time Sam and Dean had been hunting together had been the night Tobius had turned Dean and led to the horrifying abuse and neglect Sam had suffered before they were able to save him. With a shiver of horror, Tobius also realized that it wasn't him, Tobius LaSalle, Sam was seeing, Sam was seeing his and Dean's human father, John Winchester.

Realizing that he'd just opened a very large can of worms, Tobius quickly changed and padded over to his shaking grandson and gently nudged him with his snout.

_Sam, I'm not angry with you. I'm disappointed that you didn't listen to us when we told you to stay put, but I'm not angry._ Seeing that Sam had stopped shivering a little, he continued, _I know that you're used to hunting as a human, but you're going to have to learn to listen to your father and myself even more now because you're still a pup. One or all of us could've been seriously hurt tonight._ He gently snuffled into Sam's ear, eager to show the pup that he wasn't angry and that he had nothing to fear. After a long few minutes, Sam relaxed, his whimpers finally tapering off and he snuggled up to his grandfather.

_I'm sorry, Tobius. I just wanted to see what was going on._

Tobius sighed, _I know, Sam, but you've got to be more careful from now on, okay?"_

Sam nodded, _Okay._

They sat like that for a long while before Tobius shifted, _Come on, young pup, let's get you inside. I know Dean's probably wondering what happened to us._

Sam nodded and cautiously got to his feet and followed his grandfather back into the cabin.

Dean was looking almost healed up by the time they got back, though he was sound asleep. Tobius gently lifted Sam onto the bed so he could take comfort from his brotherfather.

Tobius watched his pups snuggle together for a long time before going back into the main room of the cabin, the realization of how much the specter of John Winchester and his abuse still haunted Sam was a shock. He should've known better, the amount of abuse and neglect Sam had suffered couldn't be erased in just a few weeks. Tobius suspected that the ghost of John Winchester would haunt them for a long time, but he'd be ready for him next time.

The End


End file.
